A Hell Of Mercy: A Meditation on Depression and the Dark Night of the Soul - Tapa dura

"An unsoppy meditation by a man who-though marginally devout-came to rely on the 16th-century saint's humble and hard-nosed spirituality (a does of Effexor didn't hurt, either). Laced with wry jokes and anecdotes, like the most accessible teachings, this volume is a healing gift." -- O Magazine

"[Farrington] comes to see his depression as a way of purging his soul of the selfish ego, bringing that soul to silence and an awareness of its own nothingness."--The Los Angeles Times

"Farrington drills deep into his soul to ponder his own lifelong coexistence with depression...He writes about his slow crawl to regular, functional life with beauty, cleverness, bone-breaking honesty and a deep, hard-won appreciation for the holy."--Publishers Weekly STARRED review

"So many of the passages and insights written by Tim Farrington in his astonishing work so surpassed my own writing on the same subject, that it catapulted me into the darkest depression of my life. Fortunately, I quickly reread his book and saw the light."--Richard Lewis, comedian and author of The Other Great Depression

"An unsoppy meditation by a man who--though marginally devout--came to rely on the 16th-century saint's humble and hard-nosed spirituality (a does of Effexor didn't hurt, either). Laced with wry jokes and anecdotes, like the most accessible teachings, this volume is a healing gift."--O Magazine

"[A] brave and ambitious work of nonfiction...We commend the author for opening the doors to both depression and the dark night of the soul and for dealing in a meaningful way with the spiritual practice of surrender to God."--Spirituality & Practice

"With a poet's eye and a seeker's heart, Tim Farrington explores the often-interwoven threads of spirituality and depression. Farrington is both a guide and a muse: his honesty invites introspection and hope."--Julia Cameron, New York Times bestselling author of The Artist's Way

"These days that there is meaning in suffering is not a particularly popular position. But Tim Farrington with intellectual rigor and great candor lays out his relationship to both religious suffering and clinical solutions. A Hell of Mercy is an important book."--Darcey Steinke, author of Suicide Blonde and Easter Everywhere

"An amazing little book, equal to William Styron's Darkness Visible."--The Oregonian

"A personal diary of one man's journey to the other side of the black chasm of depression. This meditation will be most useful to someone who is facing similar struggles. Farrington's description of the Stations of the Cross for children is alone worth the price of the book."--Library Journal

An exploration of the link between depression and spirituality by the author of The Monk Downstairs and The California Book of the Dead recounts his life-long struggle with depression as it influenced his identity and ambitions. 15,000 first printing.